Elysia in Another World

Chapter 15 - Athanasia

"In the year 3965, before year 0 on the modern Atlantis Calendar, a disaster struck the prosperous Empire of Atlantis. But leading up to that, a princess named Athanasia brightened the day of everyone she met."

"Arti! Alex!" called a girl with long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and training attire as she approached her little brothers. The boys were practicing with the sword. One had crimson red hair, and the other had green hair like Astarte. They stopped and grinned.

""Athy!""

They were excited to see their sister, who had just returned from a trip to another island. "I brought souvenirs!"

"Athanasia, age 26, had already gone through much in her life. When she was 12, she was kidnapped. After that, she trained as hard as she could so that nobody could ever force her into anything again. In that era, most people did not know how to manipulate mana. The few who did had to figure it out on their own. Only the imperial family had any degree of instruction."

She pulled two pins out of her bag and handed one each to her brothers, each matching their hair. "That's twenty-seven island pins!"

"Thanks, Athy!" Alexandros, the crimson-haired brother, cheered. "I'll put this on my uniform right away!"

"I will, too! Thanks, Athy!" said the green-haired brother, Artemios.

Athanasia smiled, her warmth radiating and putting a smile on even the instructor's face.

"Astarte Atlantis was personally teaching her nephews, but now that the princess returned, it was time for her lessons."

"Boys, why don't you go show your mother? I'm sure she'll be happy."

""Okay!""

"Alexandros, age 12, and Artemios, age 11, ran off to show their mother their new pins. Athanasia smiled as she watched them disappear around the corner."

Goddess Elysia, thank you for such wonderful little brothers.

"Despite the hurdles she encountered earlier in life, she never lost faith. She prayed every day and always maintained a positive attitude. She was kind to everyone and only ever sought to raise up others."

"It's time, Athanasia," said Astarte, a torrent of blue mana swelling up around her. "Come."

The blonde princess nodded and laid her bag down on the side. She walked over to the weapon rack and picked up a training sword. With a confident smile on her face, she stepped in front of Astarte and unleashed her own mana.

"Athanasia was blessed with incredible mana from a young age. Astarte did not need to hold back in practice. The two faced each other and clashed. After a long session, the two sat down on a nearby bench together to catch their breath."

"Well done, Athanasia," Astarte said as she opened a bottle of water. "You've improved to the point that I'm confident none outside the family can harm you. And the boys are coming along, too."

"It's all because I have a good teacher!" Athanasia replied. She gazed off toward the city and wondered aloud. "How much more can we grow? Imagine if the entire world had teachers. Imagine what humankind could achieve."

Astarte smiled. "Like mother, like daughter."

"Hmm?"

"Atalante said something similar recently. She wants to open a school and teach mana manipulation to the people."

Athanasia had stars in her eyes. "That sounds wonderful! I want to help!"

Astarte shook her head. "Father denied her request."